Indian Cricket Team: Four players who deserve more opportunities
The Indian Cricket Team is arguably the best team in international cricket at the moment; and with that distinction, comes great competition for spots in the team. In addition to the increasing competition for spots in the team, there are other factors such as conditions, team combination, and the subjective opinion of the selectors that prevent seemingly deserving players from playing more - or even from getting picked in the team.
However, that being said, there are certain decisions that the management and the selectors take that seem absolutely ludicrous, at least from the viewers' perspective. This slideshow looks at five players that have not been getting as many opportunities in the Indian cricket team as their performances merit.
Note: "More Opportunities" is a relative concept; this means that the list may comprise of certain players that, in the opinion of certain individuals, may have received an adequate number of opportunities.
#1 - Krunal Pandya
Krunal Pandya, the elder brother of current Team India all-rounder Hardik and man of the match in last year's IPL final, seems to be ready for the step up; however, in spite of numerous match-winning performances against world class oppositions in the IPL, an India call-up eludes the Baroda all-rounder.
Granted, the team combinations and the decline of finger-spinners has not helped his case; however, the fact that selectors have called up other spin bowling all-rounders such as Washington Sundar and Deepak Hooda to the national squad will surely make Krunal feel a little hard done by.
He has had three sensational IPL seasons, with his performance improving with each passing year, but the question persists: what more does he need to do? Despite the fact that the quality of cricket in the IPL is comparable to that in international cricket, there still seems to be a school of thought that to make a strong case for national selection, a player must show consistency in the domestic season, and in India 'A' opportunities, neither of which Krunal has done thus far.
Moving forward, Krunal will be looking to bring in that elusive consistency to further his case for selection in the Indian limited-overs squads.